Forms of Contract amended

IChemE has issued changes to its Forms of Contract to comply with the long-awaited amendments to the UK’s Construction Act, which are due to come into effect on 1 October 2011 (1 November 2011 for Scotland).

The changes will apply to all construction contracts made on or after that date. This means that most construction documents currently used in the UK will need to be amended or risk falling foul of the new requirements.

IChemE’s Contracts Committee has drafted the required amendments to the UK versions of its Forms of Contract, to ensure that the series continues to be fully compliant.  The main amendments cover modifications to the payment regime (for example changes to the payment notices and replacing the current ‘withholding notice’ with a ‘pay less notice’).  Changes to the statutory adjudication process are also covered.

Anyone who is planning to enter into a contract based on a UK version of the Forms of Contract series on or after 1 October 2011 must ensure that these amendments have been incorporated into their contract.

The amendments can be freely accessed at here.